Alas, poor Edwin….

…we knew you well, but now you ride upon the van. Sigh….your human did so well the last couple of years on this route, but this year we blew him out and he joins you in the van. Oh, dear reader, have no fear, Edwin’s human still has fun hanging with the crew, but Edwin? Not so much.

And the day started out so well. A little chilly, but today we started up the short side of Mule Pass. Back when we were going to do the southern crossing again and I went in for an overhaul to get me in perfect shape, the wonderful mechanics at Emery’s Cycling stepped back, realized that my less-than-optimal human engine could use a boost and saw that they could give me a bigger cog on the back. Oh, those guys are smart! The short, steep ride up Mule Pass was a no-op. And then…..wheeeeeeeeeee…..down the long side. More decline today than climb. We flew!

And then, we lost Edwin’s human. With the snow came a lot of sand and grit on the roads, but also the desert plants are starting to bloom and sending out pollen. That was just too much for him so we had to ride the last 1/2 of the ride solo. Not as much fun, but still an absolutely lovely day, all things considered.